Saudi Arabia v Iran: status quo v progress

That Iran had nothing but good experiences with revolution is well known. But, having staged a revolution in 1979, the Old Guard is not willing to see another revolution on their home soil.

Saudi Arabia and its oil-rich Gulf allies accuse Iran of instigating protests that have already toppled the presidents of Egypt and Tunisia, provoked brutal crackdowns and escalating violence in Libya, Syria and Yemen and could threaten the governments of others in the Middle East and North Africa. Saudi concern about Iranian interference is fuelled by the fact that Shiite Muslim and Iranian assertiveness in the region has been on the rise ever since the last Gulf war that replaced the Sunni minority regime in Iraq of Saddam Hussein with Shiite majority rule. Tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran heightened after Saudi troops entered Bahrain where a Sunni monarch was fending off predominantly Shiite protesters. Saudi Arabia has positioned itself as the leader of an Arab bloc determined to preserve the status quo in the region to the degree possible while Iran has championed the protests across the region except for in Syria, its closest Arab ally.

The question remains, is this a Sunni v Shia conflict? Royalty (albeit supported by Wahhabi religious leaders) v clergy? Or just a fight between a country that feels they are well off enough and gets plenty of money for their natural resources against one that needs more money to keep economy that’s under international sanctions from collapsing?